Miro Sinovcic

October in Atlanta
oil on canvas
42'' x 28"

I've recently begun a correspondence with another artist blogger, Miro Sinovcic. He is a Croatian artist who imigrated to the United States in 1985. Miro worked as an illustrator creating cover art for, primarily, western novels. He was extremely successful in this area, but "once the kids were out of college", he moved into the realm of fine art.


Late Summer in the Village
oil on canvas
30'' x 40"

He is having a show at the Anne Irwin Gallery in Atlanta, and asked if Karen and I could possibly attend. The opening was friday night, and there was a great turn-out at the gallery. It was a real pleasure meeting Miro. For an artist with his history, list of awards and reputation, he was a very down to earth fellow. We talked art and galleries for quite a while. We also touched upon technique, style and why our paintings do well in some locations, and not so well in others. Miro has also just been taken on by Wynne/Falconer on Cape Cod, so now we are "family" too. It was a very pleasant meeting. We had to cut our visit short though, since we also wanted to head back into Buckhead to attend a show of the works of Jim Dine at Trinity Gallery. We were with Robert Deyber and Robert Graham. They along with Karen are big fans of his work.



To be honest I wasn't familiar with Jim Dine, but became a fan as I walked through the gallery. The lions share of the work was based upon the theme of Pinocchio. I can't say exactly why I enjoyed his work so much, but I guess you can say, "it spoke to me" on some level. I love that degree of free expression. Wish I had more of it myself. A lot more.

I still haven't heard from PlusOne. Nail biting time. I have begun my "large" painting. It's a little overwhelming. Two days, and I've barely made a dent. I've painted big before, but the subject was still under scale. Here I'm taking a small object, and blowing it up. Way up! I'm beginning to realize that this is going to take a bit of time. I may have to post this one to the blog in stages. Hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.

Two Percolators

oil on canvas
12'' x 16"

I've been working on this piece for a number of days now. Spent more time on it than I should have, but I liked were it was going, so I stuck with it. The idea of creating more heavily shadowed compositions has been enticing me for a while now, and my current batch of "potential" still lifes reflect that new direction. Although many of my paintings are monochromatic, they are usually starkly illuminated. The concept of actually losing portions of the subject in shadow is new to me, and I'm pretty excited about it.

I'm also seriously considering taking the leap, and working larger. Get outside of my comfort zone, and paint like the big boys. Financially this is probably a mistake. It's more profitable to do more small paintings than one large. I think it was seeing Jeff Hayes paint the large mason jar with the lemon that got me pumped to go big.

The painting above will be going to Wynne/Falconer. They were asking for something "shiny" to send to the up-coming 11th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show in November. I was hoping to get them at least one more for Boston, but I've only got a couple of months to get ready for the winter show at Twinhouse, and need to get started on those.

Tybee Island

Karen and I don't get out of town very often, but this weekend we were made an offer we couldn't refuse. Our friends Jill and Jon Dible had the use of a wonderful little beach house on Tybee Island Georgia, and invited us to share it with them. We had been talking for a while about taking a trip back to Savannah to do some photography, and Tybee Island is just across the bridge.



Karen was looking for some "big sky" images, and one thing the Georgia coast offers is a lot of big sky. The salt marshes are breathtaking, and the weather provided a beautiful combination of blue sky and dramatic clouds. She came back with around 300 shots. Now comes the task of culling out the best images, cropping and color correcting.



I was looking mostly for architectural images. Savannah provides a wealth of "historical" doorways. I've painted a number of these in the past, and have been "Jonesing" to do some more. A nice break from still life. Walking around the moss draped oak lined streets of Savannah early in the morning is a pleasant experience to say the least. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it.



I couldn't resist taking some standard "boat on the water" pix. It's hard to resist when your there on the docks. The Tybee Island Marina provided no shortage of those too. It was a fun trip. Lots of walks on the beach. Delicious food, all prepared by Jon, who is an amazng cook. A good time, with close friends. It doesn't get any better than that.

Now it's time to get back to work. I've been collecting some new items for up-coming still lifes. Really looking forward to painting these! Anxiously waiting to hear back from the London gallery. Apparently there is a postal strike going on at the moment, so there's no telling when my package will actually arrive.

I will have a new painting ready to post in a couple of days. I think it's a good one. I like it so far anyway.

8 Ball

oil on hardboard panel
6'' x 6"

Gallery work has been keeping me busy these past few months, and I haven't had the time to offer anything for auction on ebay. The galleries are now stocked, although I just heard from Twinhouse that four paintings have just sold, and two more have gone out on approval (whew!). The galleries were stocked I should have said, and that being the case, I mentally reverted into auction mode. I have two pieces this week, starting today with, what else, a pool ball. Tonight I'll have one of my coffee related paintings going up.

It was nice to paint small, and on a hard surface. I enjoy having an active auction going again too. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up though. Twinhouse is planning the date for a winter show, and I'll have to start working for that soon. I also shipped out the paintings to PlusOne this morning for their approval. If they take me on I'll have to get busy, and provide them some additional paintings too. All that aside, for the time being, it's fun to be back on ebay. If you'd like to place a bid on this piece you can do so by clicking here.

Pool Balls No. 4

oil on gallery wrap canvas
10'' x 10"

This piece completes the group of three paintings I'll be shipping to PlusOne Gallery in London on monday. Those of you who frequent this blog are probably getting bored with the pool balls, but people really seem to like them. Plus, they may be my current favorite subject to paint.

I make an effort, with each subsequent version, to enhance the level of "realism". It's something I'm consumed with these days. My goal (I guess) is to reach a point where I feel I've "got it". Then pull back somewhat, and attempt to infuse that painterly quality, I admire so much, in the work of many of the artists I follow. This may be a futile quest. I don't know if my personality, which is of the anal retentive variety, will allow me to go there.


Contrasts
oil on panel
8'' x 10"

Karen, and I will be heading into town tonight. Tracy Helgeson's work will be presented along with that of five other artists in a group show at Twinhouse Gallery in Buckhead. I've been a fan of her paintings for a long time now, and played a small part in her acceptance into the gallery. It was an easy sell. Her colorful landscapes are beautiful. Tracy will be coming down from New York for the reception, and we are looking forward to meeting her.

As I mentioned, in the previous two posts, if/when these paintings are accepted by PlusOne, I will amend the posts to include a link to the gallery. This will provide contact information for those who may be interested in the purchase of one of these paintings.

Kettle No. 2

oil on gallery wrap canvas
12'' x 16"

This is the second, of three, paintings heading to PlusOne Gallery in London. I've emailed images of all three paintings to the director, and she's asked me to ship the entire group. One step closer to the brass ring.

Hopefully they'll like what they see when these arrive, and choose to keep them. If they take me on, and if these sell, and if I one day see my name in their roster of artists, maybe then I'll be able to relax a little. I'm pretty cranked about this.

These should be ready to ship on monday. I'm not sure how long it will take them to arrive. If they offer them for sale, I'll amend these postings with contact information on the gallery for anyone interested in the purchase of one of these paintings.